Internal Control Monitoring Tool

Transcription

1 Internal Control Monitoring Tool Section 1: Asset Management Section 2: Budgeting, Accounting, and Financial Reporting Section 3: Control Environment Section 4: Collections, Deposits, and Cash Funds Section 5: Information Technology

2 SECTION 1: ASSET MANAGEMENT Checklist Questions 1. Are staff that are responsible for program property familiar with the appropriate section of the Finance Manual? 2. Are there procedures ensuring proper labeling and tracking of property with property labels affixed so they are easily seen? 3. Is surplus equipment secured until properly assessed and approved for removal by the Finance Director? 4. Are property activity forms for all applicable items consistently and accurately completed and submitted to the Finance Director within one month? 5. Is the use of property off-site properly accounted for periodically? If yes, how often? 6. Are adequate procedures in place to facilitate the annual inventory, including procedures to resolve discrepancies in a timely manner? 7. Are keys to offices and buildings restricted to appropriate persons? 8. Are the buildings or RCS specific locations secured after-hours with access limited to appropriate persons? 9. Does the fixed asset ledger list descriptions, serial numbers, locations, dates of acquisition, cost, useful life, depreciation, funding source, etc? January 15, 2013 Page 1

3 SECTION 2: BUDGETING, ACCOUNTING, AND FINANCIAL REPORTING TRAINING Checklist Questions 1. Are staff with fiscal responsibilities familiar with appropriate sections of Finance and Accounting policies and procedures? 2. Has staff been appropriately trained in the use of the accounting system, including the chart of accounts? 3. Has fiscal staff been appropriately trained in the use of the systems reports and reporting tools? RECONCILITATIONS Checklist Questions 4. Are program ledgers reviewed and reconciled to supporting documentation at least monthly by staff separate from those initiating and finalizing the transactions? 5. Are reconciling differences, negative balances, and/or unsupported transactions investigated and corrected timely? 6. Are accounting processes and appropriate supporting documentation reviewed in a timely manner? If yes, give job title. January 15, 2013 Page 2

4 FUNDS MANAGEMENT Checklist Questions Comments 7. Are funds for all purchase orders encumbered and set aside ahead of time? 8. Are financial reports comparing budgeted balances with actual financial activity generated and reviewed by appropriate management? If yes, how often? 9. If fund or program deficits are anticipated, are appropriate levels of management notified timely and appropriate corrective action taken? 10. Does fiscal staff understand the rules associated with each of the different funding sources as outlined in the RCS Finance Manual? January 15, 2013 Page 3

5 SECTION 3: CONTROL ENVIRONMENT Checklist Questions Comments 1. Are fiscal staff, directors, managers, and program staff, as appropriate, familiar with the Board s policies, bylaws, Governance Procedures the agency s finance and accounting policies and procedures other relevant operating and compliance requirements and guidelines? 2. Does RCS administrative and program management staff demonstrate the importance of integrity and ethical values including those stated in the Code of Conduct policy in the Employee Handbook? 3. Is good communication, collaboration and team effort stressed? 4. Is management open to employee suggestions to make improvements in procedures? 5. Do management and employees have the knowledge, training, and skills necessary to perform their jobs adequately and continue to take advantage of on-going training opportunities? 6. Has management set goals and established a plan to meet these goals? If yes, what are the goals and plans? A. Are plans and performance periodically assessed? January 15, 2013 Page 4

6 Checklist Questions Comments B. Are the performance targets realistic and attainable? C. Does the integrity of financial and operations results take priority over reporting acceptable information? 7. Are the department/agency organizational structure and the lines of authority clearly understood by staff? 8. Are employee job description, desk procedure and other internal operating procedures current? 9. Has the agency maintained an acceptable employee turnover rate? 10. Does employee morale appear to be at an acceptable level? 11. Does the agency have the time, tools, and resources to effectively accomplish its mission, objectives, and goals? January 15, 2013 Page 5

7 SECTION 4: COLLECTIONS DEPOSITS AND CASH FUNDS Checklist Questions 1. Who is responsible for cash handling? Are staff members that are responsible for cash handling and depositing familiar with finance and accounting policies and procedures as well as those related to the funding source? 2. Is the collection and deposit preparation functions segregated from the accounting functions including general ledger and accounts receivable? 3. Are hand delivered cash receipts immediately taken to the finance department and counted by two employees who verify the amount by initialing the calculator tape? 4. Are all checks required to be restrictively endorsed upon receipt, uniquely stamped and recorded in the mail log and, if hand delivered, so noted? 5. Are receipts and deposits reconciled at least monthly with the program ledgers? 6. Are funds stored in a safe and secure place with keys restricted to appropriate staff? 7. Are duties related to accounts receivable delegated so that no one individual can collect funds, update receivables records, and reconcile the receivable detail? 8. Are accounts receivable monitored? If yes, how often and by whom? January 15, 2013 Page 6

8 9. Does staff know the process of reporting cases of suspected fraud or theft? If yes, briefly describe the process. January 15, 2013 Page 7

9 SECTION 5: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Checklist Questions 1. Are staff and management familiar with the agency s IT policies and standards? 2. Has a unit IT risk assessment been conducted within the past three years? 3. Are backups of operating systems, critical data, and key software programs made on a regular basis and stored off-site? 4. Are documented procedures in place for removing access to all productions systems when an employee leaves the agency? 5. Is sensitive and restricted data managed by the agency (on networks, personal computers, and back up media), classified and protected by restricted access, encryption, or other controls? 6. Do policies provide for all personnel with a need to access critical applications (mainframe, networks and personal computers) to have individual accounts and passwords and are they prohibited from sharing those passwords? 7. Are records of all software licensing agreements managed by the Network Administrator? January 15, 2013 Page 8